Osumi Ground Beetle vs East Asian Pheropsophus Bombardier

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Osumi Ground Beetle East Asian Pheropsophus Bombardier
Scientific Name Carabus osumensis Pheropsophus jessoensis
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Carabidae Carabidae
Size 22-30 mm 15-25 mm
Habitat Forests Farmland
Diet Predators Predators
Regions East Asia, Japan (Kyushu) Japan, Korea, eastern China, Russian Far East
Conservation Vulnerable Least Concern

Osumi Ground Beetle

An endemic ground beetle from the Osumi Peninsula in southern Kyushu, Japan. Features a beautiful metallic green-gold coloration. A nocturnal predator of forest floor invertebrates.

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Did You Know?

This beetle's restricted range on the Osumi Peninsula makes it a textbook example of geographic speciation on the Japanese archipelago.

East Asian Pheropsophus Bombardier

A large Asian bombardier beetle with an orange head and pronotum and dark blue-black elytra. It is the largest bombardier beetle in Japan and produces powerful chemical sprays.

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Did You Know?

It can spray its boiling chemical defense up to 20 centimeters with a popping sound audible from several meters away, and can fire repeatedly up to 20 times before depleting its reserves.